My newest Highlander is pretty much ready to fly, I just have to get all the legal stuff done with the DAR and that. It has the 150 hp fuel injected Yamaha Apex engine, Beringer landing gear, Superstol tail wheel shock assembly, covered in yellow Oratex, and it’s gonna smoke those Carbon Cubs in a stol contest or a stol drag race either one. I don’t say that to just everybody but I guess I can say it on here. Oh yeah, it has Nitrous too, 40 hp boost.

A lot of my friends fly Carbon Cubs and they really do like them. Most of these guys are really good pilots too, and when you have a Carbon Cub with a guy that really knows how to fly it they are definitely a tough competitor.

Yes, Carbon Cubs are pretty impressive planes. But it sounds like you've just created their nemesis. (hmm? I'm sure you've already planned to name it "Hee Haw --", but with up to a 190 hp in a Highlander maybe you need to sneak a little moniker on it somewhere that says "CC Nemesis" just to psyche them out (LOL).

I can hardly wait to hear more once you get some hours on it.

I will admit that I know little about the Beringer gear, but I'm curious why you prefer that gear?

Geez Steve, She'll takeoff straight up from a sit. May I ask why you changes to the Super Stol tailwheel from your airshock tail wheel on your last Yee Haw. I haven't welded my mount yet and could change over if you feel the SS is a better choice.

Paul, if you look at page 10 of the "tacked picture" thread on page one above, you will find a picture of Coltin Brown's Highlander sitting next to a Super Stol. You will see that with the Beringer Gear Struts, the Highlander is sitting at a much higher angle of attack. And if I'm correct, it is very near the critical aoa, therefore an earlier opportunity to get airborne in a three point attitude.

Bruce I use the Superstol tail wheel assembly because it’s just easy to get it that way from the factory when ordering a new kit. My TK 1/Shock Monster tail wheel assembly has been working great for 340 some hours now with the Tundra-lite tail wheel on it. The new one will also have the Tundra lite tail wheel, they are the best!!

Shock Monster front suspension works very well too. I’ve used them for thousands of landings and I really like them. The Beringer people approached me about trying their landing gear and they gave me too good of a deal to refuse. At this point after using it for about a year I think I do like it a little better than the Shock Monster but it also cost a lot more. Shock Monster is also starting to build gear legs for the Highlander which I think will be better quality gear legs than what the factory makes for the same price. They are using heavier wall tubing and it’s tig welded and heat treated and several things that I think make it a better unit. I know that the main front tube is the one that takes the brunt of all of the landings and they are going to be .058 whereas the factory tube is 035 I believe. I went upside down once because of a failed gear leg and it cost me about $10,000 and two months labor because of it. I realize that I land probably thousands of times more than most people and that it would probably never happen to someone else but I sure don’t want it happening to me again.

Steve, Thank you so much for the quick reply. I'll weld the Monster Shock tail wheel mount next week. Next question,,,, Will the new Highlander main landing gear boost the sitting AOA like the Beringer shocks? If so, and Tony can do it for the price he usually does, I'm in for a new set.

I have taken YeeHaw 6 to the airport and I flew it just a few times down the length of the runway. I’m waiting for some aluminized insulation to put inside my cowling so I don’t cook it on the exhaust header. Besides that I’ve had a terrible head cold where I just didn’t even want to do any altitude changing so I haven’t really got to try it out much yet. My first impressions of it are very very good though! Hopefully here in the next couple days I will get to really fly It!